Demon Exorcist
by Siobhan Daley
Summary: There is another girl in the Black Order other than Lenalee, one who has been there for over a decade. Her name is Akumako. Her life up until she became an Exorcist is a mystery to most, even herself. This missing past could unravel everything Akumako knows, including her friendships and the very person she had been for twelve years.
1. A Typical Morning

_I was trapped in blackness. At first, there was no substance to it, just black. As I tried to focus, a transparent checkered floor materialized beneath my feet and candles suspended in the inky darkness. Everything looked as if it could shatter in an instant._

"_Akumako!" I turned to see a blue-haired girl running towards me. Looking closer, I felt like I should remember her, but I couldn't. To my eyes, she was as frail-looking and glasslike as everything else in this dimension, yet when she reached me, she hugged me as if I was the one who would float away. "I found you! Are you coming home now, Akumako?"_

"_Who are you?" I asked her._

"_It's me, ****. Don't you remember me?" The girl's voice disappeared when she spoke her name._

"_I'm sorry," I told her, "But I don't know who you are. I don't even know where I am!" The girl drew back sorrowfully._

"_You're in a dream, Akumako. I've been trying to find you here for a long time. Why did you forget?"_

"_Forget what?"_

"_Me! Did you forget **** too? And *******? *****? *****? Everyone?" I could only assume she was listing off names, for I could not hear her. "Akumako…"_

I woke up with a start, drenched in cold sweat. The voice in my dream echoed hauntingly against the inside of my skull, pounding at my temples. Those nightmares had been coming more and more often, and they were getting harder to escape. The Voice even followed me while I was awake sometimes.

_I'm still here, Akumako..._

Ignoring the Voice, I abandoned any hope of sleep and donned my exorcist's uniform. I felt around my right eye to check whether or not my black-and-silver eyepatch was still covering my eye. Upon finding that it was, in fact, still there, I exited my room and made my way down to the lab, assuming the Science Division would be needing help again.

"You're up already, Redhead?" a cynical, yet not terribly threatening voice said from behind me.

"It's nice to see you too, Kanda." I turned around to see his usual sour expression. Never once had I seen that guy smile. "Where're you headed?" I asked him.

"Why would you care?"

"It's called a conversation, idiot."

Kanda scoffed, "Why would I want to have a conversation with someone like you?" He turned on his heel and walked away in his typical dismissive, arrogant manner.

I glared at him, muttering, "Good question. I could say the same to you."

The Science Division was in its usual state of desperation and insatiable thirst for coffee… Assuming they were still alive under those piles of paperwork. The stacks had clearly been knocked over, and the only sign of anything living was someone's hand sticking out of the paper mountain and Komui's unmistakable, zombie-like moan, "Coffee..."

I sighed, "Seriously? How did you guys get stuck in this mess?" I pushed my red bangs away from my eyepatch. "Nevermind. I don't want to know." I calmly began gathering up papers and re-stacking them, not really caring about the order they were in. "Are you going to crawl out of there, or do I have to dig you out again?" All of the buried personnel quickly started scuffling around, not desiring a repeat of the last time I had to excavate them from the dreaded paperwork.

Johnny yelled, "Please don't make us do our work in tubs of ice water again! I was sick for a week after that!"

"Don't worry Johnny. I won't do that." Just before the little guy could breathe a sigh of relief, I added, "I think next time I'll dunk all of you in some sort of dye that will turn you purple and make your skin itch like you had chickenpox." All of the men shuddered, their skin obviously crawling at the thought of such a punishment. They each quickly wrestled their way free of their paperwork and began cleaning the mess up. The whole process took around an hour, but eventually the entire office was clean again.

"So, Akumako, what brings you to my office today?" Komui said cheerfully.

Reever yelled, "What do you mean, 'your office'?! We all work in here!"

"Right, Reever, whatever. So, why did you come down here?"

I sighed, remembering how insane Komui was, "I assumed you all were drowning in paperwork, but I didn't expect it literally. I came to help, as I usually do when I'm down here."

"Ah, I see. That's nice of you. I suppose your Innocence has been holding up well, then?"

I flinched when he mentioned the Innocence in my body. "Yeah. Everything is fine with it! Nothing's wrong," I assured him. In reality, my Innocence had been acting strangely. I had an extremely high synchronization rate, according to Hevlaska. However, whenever I trained against akuma dolls, it kept changing form against my will. Sometimes it wouldn't activate at all, or be in some distorted shape. Even so, I preferred training difficulties over Komui's 'maintenance'.

"Oh, that's good. I still want to check your Innocence today, if I can," said Komui. "I know you've had problems with it before, so it's good to check. Also, I would like to have Hevlaska take a look at your Innocence to see if your syncro-rate has changed at all. Okay?"

I had hoped that I wouldn't have to go through the tests I had to do every other month again, but it was inevitable. "Fine, Komui. Let's get the exam over-with. I'd rather not be fretting about it all day."

The insane supervisor sprung out of his chair and ran into one of the smaller rooms that branched off of the main office. He reemerged wearing a safety helmet and carrying his giant drill, amongst other horrific tools he used to repair parasitic Innocence. I shuddered, but willingly followed Komui down the hall to the room used as a type of O.R. for parasitic-type exorcists, like myself. "Please activate your Innocence for me, Akumako." I did so, not thinking of destroying akuma like most exorcists would in order to activate. Rather, I just closed my mind to my feelings and allowed myself to be swallowed by my destructive side. This time, the Innocence activated properly, but only partially, only allowing my arms to morph into monstrous limbs tipped with razor-sharp talons. Komui scanned my anti-akuma weapon over and over, but he saw no flaw in it. "I guess I didn't need to get any of my tools after all. I'll take you down to Hevlaska now." I deactivated my Innocence and boarded to elevator. With one flick of a switch, Komui and I plummeted to the very bottom of the tower that housed the Black Order. The elevator screeched to a halt in front of Hevlaska, the keeper of the Innocence.

"Akumako… I am glad to see you again," said Hevlaska, "Do you need me to check your synchronization rate again?"

"Yes, Hevlaska. I do. I want to see if there is any change." The giant being lifted me up to get a better look at my Innocence. No matter how many times Hevlaska examined me, the sense of something probing my insides remained bizarre to me.

"Let me see… 19%...23%...42%...66%...85%...93%...Yes, 93% is still your maximum synchronization rate," Hevlaska confirmed.

"Thank you, Hevlaska. I will be going now. Komui, would you let me off near the cafeteria? I haven't eaten yet."

Komui responded, "Yes, of course. You must be starving! We'll be there in a moment."

"Komui, There is something I wish to discuss with you in private," said Hevlaska, "It is important that you hear it." Komui nodded then flicked a switch, sending us flying towards the upper levels of the tower. It was still early, so I didn't see many people as we whizzed past each floor. I felt the elevator begin to slow down as the doors all began to come into focus. We stopped in front of the hallway that eventually branched off into the cafeteria.

"Alright, Akumako, this is your stop," said Komui, "I have to go back down to work. If you want to come down and help out, we'll give you free coffee!"

I leapt off of the elevator onto the solid floor. Before I took off down the hall, I turned back to Komui and told him, "Sorry, Komui, it's a tempting offer, but I already get free coffee!" I turned again and sprinted, laughing, away down the hall.

If I closed my eyes, I could almost pretend I was a kid again, living out a normal childhood…


	2. Kanda Hates Me

I had woken up before dawn, which meant that by the time I had reached the cafeteria, the sun was only just peeking over the mountains in the distance. The huge arching windows gave me a breathtaking view of the landscape. The tower was up on a cliff, after all. I was rarely up this early, so I never got to see the sunrise. I closed my left eye, the only one that was open, memorizing the beautiful scene outside. However, the image I conjured was not of what I just saw, but of a solitary, snowy mountain. I asked myself silently, _Which mountain is that…?_

Of course, before I could think of an answer, my stomach groaned loudly, reminding me why I was even there in the first place. I grumbled, "Fine, stomach. Shut up. I'll go get some food. Excuse me for enjoying the view…" I crossed the hall and pushed the cafeteria doors open, revealing the mostly empty room. I counted two finders and one other Exorcist: Kanda.

"Mornin', Akumako!" Jerry greeted me from the kitchen, "You're up early. What can I make for ya', little lady?" Jerry was probably the only person I thought of as a friend in the Black Order. Ever since I came here as a little kid, Jerry would listen to me and not tell everyone else. And, of course, he fed me too. Nobody else was ever willing to make food for me, with the amount that I can eat.

"Let me see… I'll have two large bowls of jasmine rice, three squid steaks, salted salmon, twenty mochi cakes, two bowls of udon, one large bowl of ramen, some soba noodles and lots of boiled shiitake mushrooms," I told Jerry, "Oh! I'd also like fifteen onigiri, and three bowls of beef-and-egg donburi. I know it's only breakfast, but I'd like a really large suama for dessert with some amanatto, and do you think you could make me some kompeito?"

Jerry laughed, "It might take me a little while, but I'll get it done. You just hang tight until it's ready. Ya' want a red bean bun while you wait? I know you like 'em." The flamboyant Indian man held out the said bun on a plate to me, which I gladly took.

I smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Jerry!" Glancing around the huge room, I decided to sit across from Kanda, just to bother him. It was pretty clear that he hated being around me, mostly because he knew what I kept hidden behind my eyepatch… At least, I think that's why he didn't like me. In any case, for around two minutes, I just sat across the table staring at Kanda while nibbling on my bean bun and he ignored me. After a while, he started glancing up from his soba noodles uncomfortably.

"Why the hell are you staring at me, woman?" said Kanda irritably after some time of me watching him eat.

I shrugged, "No reason. Can't I just look at someone because I feel like it?" I said in my mind,_ "Mugen in 3…2…" _Just as I reached one, the sharp tip of Kanda's beloved katana stabbed through the piece of my bun that I had left to eat. I experimentally let go to see whether or not it would stay on the blade, and when it did, I just ate the bun like a shish-kabob. As intended, this seemed to piss Kanda off further.

Kanda slammed his fists and Mugen on the table and stood up, glaring viciously. "Can I not go anywhere without having to deal with you?" He yelled at me, gaining the attention of the people that were starting to file into the room, "Wherever I go, whether I'm in this damned tower or on a mission, either you follow me on your own or Komui sends you after me!" I could feel the worried expressions of finders behind me, but I kept my voice and expressions completely calm… No point in pretending to be upset, right?

"Actually, I don't follow you on purpose, Kanda. Even if I did, do you have a problem with my company?"

"Yes, I do!"

"Then please, tell me what it is." Kanda opened and closed his mouth a few times as if he were trying to find the words he wanted, but couldn't. I raised my blood-red eyebrows, waiting for a response. "Well? Spit it out, Kanda. I don't care. I wouldn't say I like you much either." Kanda still didn't respond. Instead, he just walked away, leaving the rest of his soba noodles behind. One of these days, I'm going to find myself missing my head. I'm sure of it.

Kanda's POV

That redhead never ceased to frustrate me. For as long as I've known her, she's been nothing except a nuisance. To make it worse, she always showed up in the same place I did. If I go to eat, Akumako arrives. When I go to train, she shows up. If I go on a mission, guess who Komui sends with me? One of these days, I'm going to run her through with Mugen. Cursed people like her deserve that…

Akumako's POV 

Through my entire meal, all of the finders that filed in sat as far away from me as possible. Over the years, I had gotten a reputation similar to Kanda's, so everyone avoided me like the plague. Only Komui's sister, Lenalee, as well as the Science Division ever talked to me, and even they were terrified of me. When I finished eating, I returned my dishes to Jerry and left, thanking him. Having nothing better to do, I headed down to one of the training rooms, which didn't have Kanda in it for once. The room I chose was filled with akuma dummies I could use to practice on. I ditched my jacket on the ground and silently tried to activate my Innocence, but failed as usual. After three more attempts, I finally managed to keep my weapon activated for more than a few seconds. Both of my arms looked like they had bone armor covering them and the claws at the end were razor sharp. I slashed through the nearest dummies with no problems, so I decided to try using a second part of my weapon that I normally didn't use, mostly because I was hard for me to activate this far in most cases. I willed my weapon to change, causing the back of my forearms to begin shifting into a sharp ridge. Gradually, they elongated and curved into wicked scythes. The edges were as sharp, if not more so, than my claws. I swung my arms at another akuma doll, but my cuts were awkward and uncomfortable, since I rarely could practice with it. Soon, I got comfortable with the blades, but before I could chop down more dummies, I heard the alarm got off. My Innocence deactivated and I covered my ears to try to smother the abhorrent noise, but I couldn't completely block it out.

As I was trained to do, I ran straight to Komui's office where I found Reever, Johnny, Tapp Dopp, Number 65, Lenalee, and of course, Komui. All of them were watching a golem feed from the front gate.

"Why did the alarm go off?" I asked, "Is there an akuma or something?"

Komui turned around calmly and responded, "Oh, Akumako, you're here! Don't worry about it. Kanda's going out to take care of the intruder as we speak." I pushed Komui aside so I could see the screen. All I saw was a teenage boy, no more than two or three years younger than me, protesting to the gatekeeper that he wasn't an akuma. What caught my attention most of all was his bright white hair and the mark on the left side of his face. Was that a scar, or…? A breeze blew a lock of the boy's hair aside, showing a pentacle on his forehead above his left eyebrow.

"Komui, that kid isn't an akuma," I said simply. Everyone looked at me quizzically.

Lenalee inquired, "Are you sure, Akumako? The gatekeeper scanned him and said-"

"He's not an akuma, Lenalee!" I snapped at her. She recoiled from me slightly, remembering that I was often as ill-tempered as Kanda. Speaking of, Kanda showed up on the screen and instantly started slashing at the newcomer with Mugen. If possible, he seemed even more vicious than usual. I snickered in my head, '_He must be PMSing.' _The boy continuously ran around in an attempt to dodge Kanda's blade, but after several close calls, he activated a weapon embedded in his left arm to help him block without losing anything. Once I noticed that the kid's weapon was being damaged by Mugen, I decided that, rather than sit inside and watch him get shredded, I would go out and help the kid avoid such a horrible fate.

"Where are you going, Akumako?" Komui asked.

I responded sharply, "Apparently, to go piss Kanda off even more today." At that, I ran out of the surveillance room and down a hall that led to a balcony. I looked, down, seeing Kanda trying to murder the white-haired boy. I leapt down, thankful that I was only on the second floor. Before I hit the ground, I had my entire plan laid out in my head. 1) Stop Kanda for using Mugen on the boy any further. 2) Debilitate Kanda if necessary. 3) Get them both inside a let the Science Division take over. I landed with my arms transformed and before Kanda could land another hit, I jumped between him and his target, catching Mugen in my hand. I winced at the pain of the sharp blade cutting into my armored hand. Blood the same shade of my hair seeped from the new wound.

"What do you think you're doing, Redhead?!" Kanda yelled angrily. He applied more force behind Mugen, cutting me deeper and calling a small groan of pain from me.

"I'm stopping this fight, idiot. This kid is clean! He's not an akuma!"

"Yeah right!"

"She's right! I'm not an akuma!" The boy wailed in fear, "Why don't you believe me? Master Cross sent a letter saying that I would be coming!"

A golem flew down next to us and spoke using Komui's voice, "That's true, actually. I just found the letter he was talking about. He's General Cross's student, so it was a false alarm!" The murderous intent in Kanda's eyes wavered briefly before turning his anger elsewhere.

"GATEKEEPER!"

The huge stone face cried indignantly, "What? It's not my fault! I was doing my job! I thought he was an akuma!" Even after over a decade, I had no clue how that thing worked.

"That's nice, Gatekeeper," I said sourly, "But I, for one, don't care. Now open the door and let us in."

It did so without further protest, revealing Lenalee in the entryway. "Hey! Come on in!" She said cheerfully. I released Mugen and Kanda put the thing away. Both of us seemed less than happy, but at least I had a reason for it. Kanda just had a stick up his ass, pardon my French. The white-haired boy, General Cross's student, happily followed Lenalee, probably thrilled to get away from the two pissed-off, homicidal teenagers that included me and Kanda. True, sometimes I seemed pretty jovial, but usually I was gloomy, cruel, and… Well, like Kanda, who I tried to get away from by pushing past him and the door, but as I tried to escape to my room, Lenalee caught my collar. She jerked me back and I fell, since I was significantly taller than the short girl.

I irritably grumbled, "Alright, what did I do this time?" Whenever I Lenalee did this, it meant I was in trouble, which I was in A LOT.

"You aren't going anywhere, Akumako," she replied, "You need to visit Komui to check up on your arm."

"AGAIN?!" I cried, "But I already saw him earlier today!"

"That may be true, but you damaged your Innocence while fighting Kanda."

"No, I didn't. I'm fine. Now let me go," I protested.

Lenalee denied my freedom, "I'm not stupid, Akumako. I can see the gash in your hand and it's still bleeding. It self-deactivated again, just so you know." I glanced at my hands, seeing that my Innocence had transformed back into my normal limbs.

"Seriously?" I sighed in exasperation, "If I lose focus for even a moment, it shuts down. This is going to cause problems one day." Lenalee started walking and chatting with the newcomer, leading him to Komui's office *cough*torture chamber*cough* and dragging me behind her. "HEY!" I shrieked, "I'm still here, Lenalee!"

She turned her head back and grinned in a way that I found truly evil. "I'm sorry, I'm being rude. I forgot to introduce you two!" She said happily, completely ignoring the fact that she was dragging me around like a sack of vegetables… A ferociously struggling sack of veggies, but that's not really the point.

The kid with white hair waved at me awkwardly, clearly taking in the fact that everyone he had just met was insane. "My name is Allen Walker. It's nice to meet you!"

"I'm Akumako," I responded simply.

"Akumako… What?" He inquired as to what my last name was.

I felt my eye twitch a little. "It's just Akumako. I don't have a last name." The boy, Allen, seemed a little surprised at this.

"You don't have a last name?"

"Nope."

"You don't have a family?"

"Nope."

Allen was a bit taken aback. "Do you ever get lonely?"

I looked away at the center of the tower, and thought about it for a moment. "Not really. I'm not one for social activities usually. I never knew my parents, so it's not a big deal for me. Ma- OWOWOWOW!" My sentence was cut off when Lenalee dragged me down some stairs, the edges stabbing into my back. "You're doing even more damage to me than Mugen did, Lenalee! Quit it!" I yelled.

"Sorry!"

"You aren't sorry at all!"

"Anyway," she started talking again, completely ignoring me, "Once Komui has a look at your injuries, he'll take you down to Hevlaska for evaluation and I can show you around! Does that sound good?"

Allen replied politely, "Yeah, that sounds great, Miss Lenalee!"

Not-so-politely, I said, "You're not going to be thinking it's so great in a couple of minutes, Walker. Trust me on that."

To put it simply, I was right.


	3. A Letter And A Mission

I took a little while for the new kid to get over the shock of Komui's terrifying Innocence repairs. He was unresponsive for a few minutes, but eventually we managed to get him on the elevator to take him to Hevlaska for evaluation. He panicked at first, which was actually pretty funny to watch, but Hevlaska quickly calmed him down and reassured him the she was no threat. Once she managed to examine his Innocence thoroughly, Hevlaska judged him to have an 83% synchro-rate. Not as high as mine, but still pretty good. The elevator whisked us back up to the level that Komui's office was at and got off the contraption.

Komui waved at us, saying, "Hevlaska needs to talk to me about something. I need to go back down, since I didn't talk to her earlier. See you later, Lenalee!" he yelled maniacally as he disappeared into the depths of the tower, completely ignoring Allen and me.

Lenalee sweatdropped a little, trying to draw attention away from her brother's sister-complex, "Sooo… Allen, shall I show you around? I can take you to your room and help you set up there, if you want."

"Sure! That sounds nice, Miss Lenalee," he replied.

"Just Lenalee, please." The two walked away, chatting like old friends. I decided to look for them later rather than follow them and be ignored. Actually, I made the decision (that I would probably get in trouble for later,) to descend the staircase back down to Hevlaska's level, to see if I could overhear what she and Komui were discussing. I was bored, and the topic was high on my curiosity list. Hevlaska had mentioned it, whatever it was, during the time that I visited her this morning, so I felt like I had to figure it out. I figured I would get in trouble for spying on him, but as I often tell myself, nothing is against the rules if you don't get caught!

As I neared my target level, I could hear bits and pieces of the discussion between Komui and Hevlaska. From what I could hear, the matter was quite serious, bringing my curiosity to a new level.

"…You can see it too, Komui… It is only short time before other people start to notice as well, many of whom could be a serious threat," I heard Hevlaska say, "This one is the only one of their kind to have been given the chance to choose their own fate… If they give into their natural state, then you will have no choice-"

"I know, Hevlaska," Komui cut her off, knowing what the giant exorcist would say, "I told Kanda to kill them if it comes to that. He's the most suited to the task. Have no fear, Hevlaska. I've already thought through it, even if I didn't want to," he reassured her.

"Good. Just be warned; Demon Exorcists are supposed to be commanded by the Millennium Earl. If you don't keep a very close watch, he may reclaim what used to be his."

"I doubt that will be an issue. A - Ahem - The Demon Exorcist has adapted well over the years, and seems to feel at home here. The Earl probably doesn't have any sway over them." I found it strange that Komui and Hevlaska were only referring to this 'Demon Exorcist' as 'They' rather than he or she. Didn't they have a name, or were they just some unimportant test subject?

"Be that as it may, I'm still concerned, Komui. If you are wrong, you do understand the consequences, do you not?"

Komui nodded grimly, "Yes, I do. By putting my faith in the Demon Exorcist, I put the Order at risk. All of us could be killed if they turn against us, but I still have faith that they won't."

I silently crept away, confused, as Hevlaska muttered, "I pray that you are right, Komui. I really do."

I spent the next several days thinking about what I'd overheard. I was spending most of my time in the cafeteria lately, and whenever he came in, Kanda had gave me weird looks, as if it bothered him that I hadn't been trying to make him angry recently. Whatever. All I ever wanted from him was a display of emotion, and confusion counts in my book, but for once, I wasn't even remotely trying to be obnoxious towards him. My mind was preoccupied with the "Demon Exorcist", whatever that was. Hevlaska obviously viewed it as a threat, and Komui had measures to stop it if it turned on us, but I couldn't figure out one important detail: Who is the Demon Exorcist?! And why would one individual be so dangerous to the Order to need measures to kill it? Speaking of, wasn't it Kanda who was supposed to destroy the Demon Exorcist if it went berserk? I got up from my seat and walked across the room to where Kanda was eating his soba noodles in grim silence.

"Kanda, what do you know about Demon Exorcists?" I demanded without hesitation. The male exorcist's dark eyes widened in surprise briefly then narrowed into a menacing glare once again.

He replied curtly, "What do _you_ know about Demon Exorcists? You shouldn't even know they exist, Redhead."

"So you do know something about them?"

"Only because Komui decided that he wanted me to kill a particular one if it turned on us." Kanda's eyes narrowed even further. "If you think I'm telling you anything at all, you're sorely mistaken. It's confidential. How did you even hear the term, anyway?"

"Umm…" I knew I couldn't get out of answering, and anything I said would incriminate me, so I just went with it. "I heard Komui talking about a Demon Exorcist with Hevlaska. All I really understood was that whoever it is, they're dangerous. And that you were supposed to kill them if they turned against the Order, right?"

"You're too nosy for your own good. Now leave me alone." Kanda refused to say anything else, no matter how much I taunted him.

I retreated to my room where it was quiet so that I could think. The first thing that I noticed when I got in was the obnoxious tapping on my window. I had a feeling that it was my golem, since my room was several stories up. I pushed the curtain aside and, sure enough, there was the little red bat-like… thing… I let it inside and it flew in quickly to perch on my desk. My golem, who was named Aka, by the way, opened her mouth (yes, she has a mouth, and yes, Aka is female.) and coughed/puked an envelope out onto the desk. Thank god that golems don't have stomach acid…

I licked up the letter and ripped the seal open. As I expected, it was from General Cross, my mentor. I was the only person from the Order who had any contact with him, as far as I know, and I wasn't allowed to tell anyone that I received letters from him regularly. Now, before you get the wrong idea, it was a _STRICTLY_ _STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIP!_ I was just his favorite pupil, that's all. The letter read:

_Dear Akumako,_

_If he hasn't shown up yet, I've sent another apprentice to the Order to become an official Exorcist. Naturally, there's no way in Hell that I'd go back there, so I won't get to see how much you. How many years has it been? Four years? Anyway, the kid's got enough of a brain to make it to headquarters alive… I think._

_How has your Innocence been? You've mentioned before that it's been acting up and been difficult to use. Has it improved at all? Have you gotten Hevlaska to take a look at it? She might be able to help. I wouldn't recommend going to Komui, though. That guy's crazy, so don't strain yourself while training. You would not want to be forced to have that nutjob fix your arms… or have worse things happen…_

_On another note, do you have a boyfriend yet? If you do, he'd better treat you right, or I WILL KILL HIM. And he'd better not get you knocked up! God, I sound like an overprotective father, don't I? Sorry. I still think of the scared little kid you were when I found you. I guess I get a little carried away when it comes to keeping my favorite apprentice safe. Maybe we can have a good chat one day if we run into each other out in the world, but for now, I'll just have to send letters._

_Sincerely, General Marian Cross_

Anyone else who read the letters my master sent would've thought that they were out-of-character for him, but it was what I was used to. Around other people, General Cross was a crude, drunken womanizer who didn't care about anyone except himself, but around me, he was gentle and kind. I didn't really remember much about back then, but my first clear memory is of the General holding his hand out to me in a dark, broken house and telling me that everything was going to be alright from then on. According to what I was told later, my family and I had been attacked by a group of akuma and General Cross destroyed them and took me away from there. He taught me how to use my Innocence, along with pretty much everything else I know. I owe him everything. If it wasn't for General Cross, I'd be dead. He was the closest thing to a father I had.

Interrupting my train of thought, there was a loud knock on my door. I stashed General Cross's letter under some papers on my desk before opening the door. For some reason, Komui was standing outside, and then I realized he was holding a manila folder. He had a job for me.

"Can I come in, Akumako?" he asked politely. "I have a job for you."

"Yeah, sure." I let him in and sat on my bed, acting like I didn't care either way, but internally happy that I would finally get to get out of this blasted tower.

Komui handed me the file and I glanced at the contents. I said emotionlessly, "You're sending me on a suicide mission?"

Lenalee's obsessive brother shook his hands back and forth rapidly, denying it entirely. "Don't be so melodramatic! I just want you to keep an eye on Kanda and Allen to make sure that he doesn't die, that's all!"

"Which one are you talking about?"

"Well, mostly Allen, but try to make sure Kanda doesn't die either," he responded.

"And Allen is the new beansprout, right?"

Komui sighed, "Yes, that's him. The boy with white hair."

I thought for a moment, and then said, "And you're sending him on his first mission with _Kanda_? Do you want me _and_ the Moyashi to die?!"

"Uhg…" Komui buried his face in his palm, "How many times do I have to ask you to stop using Japanese around me?"

"No matter how many times you say it, I'm from Japan, so deal with it." I forgot to mention that I'm Japanese. Yes, my hair is bright red and my eyes are blue, but my facial features are extremely Japanese and I was raised in Japan until General Cross found me while I was travelling with my family in Europe. Moving on!

"Look, I'm not giving you a choice here. You are going to do this because I'm ordering you to."

"I wasn't planning on declining," I said blandly, "I need to get out of this place for a few days and I get to piss off Kanda. What more could I ask for?"

"Actually, this is an undercover mission," Komui contradicted, "You aren't to have any contact with Allen, Kanda, or their finder, Toma, unless they are in danger, understand?"

"AWWW! COME ON!"

And so I found myself on a train a few hours later wearing a cloak and sitting with a man I had never met, just praying that something interesting would happen.


	4. Reddened Eyes

Within an hour or so of the train pulling out from the station, I found my open eye starting to slip closed. From experience, I knew that attempting to resist falling asleep was futile, so I allowed my eye to slide shut and share the darkness of my right side. My bloody red hair pressed against the window as a slight cushion from the cool glass. In the brief moments before I drifted of into the abyss of unconsciousness, a large, warm hand pressed lightly down on my shoulder and a light weight settled over me. It felt familiar and, somehow... Safe.

For the first time in years, I didn't dream. The absence of strange voices and images was pleasant and allowed me to wake up peacefully for once. My left eye flickered open drowsily to see an individual man sitting across from me. He was the same person who had been there since I had boarded, but only now did I actually notice him. He was tall and strong-looking, with a handsome, relaxed face as he stared nonchalantly out the window at the passing horizon. Judging by his fine clothes and the tall hat that sat beside him, the stranger was probably a young nobleman. T_his guy probably has women falling at his feet to be his wife,_ I thought as I sat up, knocking off the object that had been covering me.

The stranger's gaze shifted from the horizon to me and he smiled, "Ah, you're finally awake. That's good." My fingers found themselves tangled in the fabric of the thing that had covered me while I slept, which turned out to be this man's coat. I brushed it off and handed it to him shyly, as I tend to be around strangers.

"I assume you'll be wanting this back, sir?" I said politely, if not a little bit awkwardly.

He took the expensive-looking garment with a slight chuckle, "Yes, thank you, miss. And there's no need to be so formal. My name is Tyki Mikk. You may just call me Tyki if you wish." Tyki smiled again, more amiably this time. "Might I have the honor of knowing your name, my dear?"

I felt blood rush to my cheeks at Tyki's casual flirting. "Oh, yes, of course! My name is Akumako."

"Ah," he sighed, looking off into nothingness, "What a lovely name. It's Japanese, correct?" I nodded, curious as to why he didn't ask about my surname like most people did. "Do you know what your name means? I'm curious."

I stiffened when he asked that. I didn't like telling people what my name means. This discomfort started when I first met Kanda and he told me how awful my name's meaning was. "It means 'Demon Child,'" I said quickly, hoping Tyki couldn't hear me.

"How unusual. I like that," he complimented unexpectedly.

"You like it? I've only ever been told that my parents must have hated me to call me a demon."

"That's nonsense," Tyki denied, "Those people just can't understand the beauty of unique things. Such a unique name befits an exotic young lady such as yourself." You know how I said earlier that Tyki _'probably has women falling at his feet to marry him'_? Well, scratch that. He _definitely_ has ladies begging to sell of their hands in marriage to him. He reserved no compliments and seemed to be a bit of a playboy. Still, I rather liked Tyki. Talking to him was easy and felt familiar, even though I had only known him for a few minutes. Well, first impressions are important, and he made a good one.

We chatted amiably for a while longer until the train's wheels screeched around a bend and the locomotive began to slow down. The train pulled into the next station, which I recognized by the sign as the place I was supposed to get off at. I caught a glimpse of Kanda's long, blueish-black hair as he exited the train.

"Sorry, Tyki, but this is my stop. I need to leave before the train takes off again," I said regrettably as I stood up and headed towards the door of the car, "It was nice meeting you!"

Just before I got out of earshot, I could swear Tyki said, "Yes... It was nice to see you too, Akumako."

I ran behind the Exorcists I was tailing, staying around a quarter mile behind so that I could still see them but they wouldn't notice my presence. Fortunately, it wasn't hard to keep an eye on Allen and Kanda, seeing as there was very little in this desert to block my line of sight except the occasional rock or cactus. That's all I was grateful for, though. Even at night, this place was too warm and dry for my liking. I could scarcely imagine how bad it was during the day.

Shortly after my targets entered the ghost city of Mater, explosions rang through the night, lighting up the ruins like fireworks and signalling that the battle between Exorcists and akuma had begun. Within a few minutes, I too reached Mater, weaving my way through the various alleys and streets to avoid detection and get to the scene of the fight. My right eye began to itch as it always did when akuma were nearby. I started to get excited, but I repeatedly had to remind myself that I wasn't allowed to fight unless Allen or Kanda was in danger, although I probably wouldn't fight anyone threatening him. Hell, I'd give them a hand! I couldn't stand him!

In my annoyance with Kanda, I almost barged right into the battle without realizing it. I quickly ducked behind a convenient stack of crates that allowed me both concealment and a great view of what was happening. I couldn't see Kanda, but who cares? He's fine. It was the new beansprout I was supposed to be watching anyway. Overall, he was pretty good. His technique was a little sloppy, but he would get better. His weapon actually reminded me of a rougher version of my own, and his only covered a single arm. As I critiqued Allen's fighting, something large crept up out of the corner of my eye. I shifted my head and saw an akuma sneaking up on the white-haired boy. He was completely absorbed in the monster he was fighting now. There was no way he would notice this one in time. It was already aiming it's guns at his back. I ran out from behind the crates at full speed, leaping at the short kid and catching his shoulder with my foot, yelling, "Stupid beansprout!" A streak of pain erupted and my vision went red. Was my hair in my eyes? No. This was just the same exact color as the shiny keratin strands atop my head.

It was blood.

Allen's POV

Something heavy slammed into my shoulder and knocked me to the sandy ground. As I fell, a large mass of red and black also collapsed, but I couldn't tell what it was in the darkness of night. A small black object fluttered down next to my face. _What's this?_ I thought as I picked it up, _An eye patch? Didn't that girl with red hair wear one? Her name was Akumako, I_ _think. _Within a few seconds, the red-and-black mass I had seen fall began thrashing in the sand and screaming obscenities into the sky.

"Agh! Damn it! I can't see!" Well, what'dya know? It was Akumako. There was blood all over her face, but at first it just looked like her hair. "Ow! You stupid akuma! If you're gonna shoot me, at least do it properly! And you!" She pointed accusingly, "This is your fault! If you'd been paying attention like a half-decent Exorcist, I wouldn't have had to get shot to save your ass! What do you have to say for yourself?!"

"Um... You realize I'm over here, right?" In her blindness, she'd been pointing in the completely opposite direction.

"Goddammit..."

Akumako's POV

Not having your eyesight when there are akuma everywhere is generally not a good thing. From what I could tell, my eye patch was missing, but my eyes themselves were fine... I think. I'd take care of it later. Fortunately, I had learned how to fight by using my ears as well as my eyes, so I figured I could manage. Plus, if I got hit a few times (as long as they weren't vital spots) I'd be fine. Parasitics like me can purge the akuma virus from our systems. Thank God for that.

I heard the distinctive 'ca-chak' sound of the akuma around Allen and I re-aiming their guns at us. "Move!" I yelled, somersaulting away and running, arms slightly extended so that I wouldn't run into a wall. (I've done that before. Kanda didn't let that one go for ages.)

"There's a pile of rocks on your right!" Allen shouted to me, acting as a sort of seeing-eye-dog. How humiliating. I'd just have to deal with it until I could clear the stream of blood cascading into my eyes. "Jump!" I followed the Moyashi's instruction but my foot still caught on whatever I was jumping over. I think it may have been an old crate, like the ones I hid behind earlier.

I crashed into the sand, unable to see or figure out which way I needed to go. My ears picked up the ominous sound of the akuma chasing its prey. I laughed at myself. Did I condemn myself to death by saving Allen Walker, a boy I had scarcely met? Maybe. What a pitiful way to go. At least I wouldn't die for nothing.

"Mugen, summon misfortune, Netherworld Creatures, first illusion!" The approaching monster exploded, pelting me with fragments of it's mechanical body.

I whipped my head around in vain. "Kanda?! Is that you?" A strong hand pulled me up with more force than necessary. Yup. That was Kanda, alright.

"Who else would it be, Redhead?"

"I can't see, so I don't know, moron!" I yelled in protest.

"Che," Kanda let out his standard sound of annoyance, "What the hell are you doing here, anyway? Did Komui get you to follow me again?"

"Moyashi, actually, wherever he went," I replied. I could feel the other Exorcist glaring at me.

"So you're basically that pipsqueak's bodyguard?"

"Well, I guess." Where was he going with this? Without warning, my feet left the ground and my stomach landed painfully on top of Kanda's shoulder. "Ack! The hell?!"

"We're hiding. I need to take a quick breather and you need to get cleaned up, otherwise you'll remain completely useless," Kanda said. He started running, repeatedly knocking the wind out of my lungs and disabling my ability to talk back. After several minutes and plenty of turns, Kanda set me down inside one of the run-down houses, judging by the level of red light filtering through my eyelids. He didn't speak, but I heard him slump down into the sand, breathing heavily. Normally he wouldn't show any sign of weakness around anyone, but I technically couldn't see him, so I guess it didn't matter as long as I was blind. I heard the sound of water sloshing in a container as Kanda gulped some of it down. I jumped a bit when he suddenly snapped, "Do you have any bandages or something?"

"What?" I said dumbly.

"Bandages, idiot! You know, fabric to wrap wounds in? Some kind of cloth?"

I tapped the areas across my torso that held my pockets. "Yeah, I think I have bandages here somewhere..." I started searching the pouch I kept at my hip, feeling around for the wrappings I carried with me. The fabric brushed my fingertips and I grabbed it and pulled it out, holding the whit linen out in the direction I assumed Kanda was in. "I'm not sure where you are, so you'll have to get it yourself." He did so without complaining and I expected him to be dressing his own injuries, assuming he had any. Instead, I felt the fabric I had handed to him wipe gently over my eyes, soaked with cool water. "Wha-?"

"Don't start feeling special or anything. I just don't want to have to carry you around everywhere, got it?"

"Yeah. I got it," I assured him. In truth, my heart was pounding for some reason. I decided it just must have simply been surprise from Kanda's actions.

He finished cleaning the half-dried blood from my eyelids and said, "Try opening your eyes, Redhead." I did as he said. My eyes stung and my vision was tinted red, but I could see nonetheless. It was actually a little strange to watch the young man I normally argued with so much simply clean my injury, minor though it was, without even a trace of hostility. It was, for lack of a better word, weird.

Kanda's POV

The Redhead's blood had stained the whites of her eyes light red and made her blue irises almost lavender. Fortunately for her, the bullet had only grazed her forehead and left a gash that would probably scar, but she'd be fine. It would just be another reminder of a job she'd done. With every trace of blood that I wiped away, the wound looked less and less serious. When the rest of the blood was gone, I tore the wet fabric from the end of the roll and wrapped the dry part around her head to protect the injury from further harm. I tried my best to keep my usual stoic appearance as I looked into the Redhead's freakish eyes again. "I'm done. Do what you want."

She thought for a moment, deciding what she felt would be the best course of action for her. "Can I stick with you, Kanda?" she asked with a tone that got my own blood burning, "It would be easier for us to keep track of one another and to make sure neither of us gets killed, you know?"

"Fine," I agreed, "But if you get in my way, I'll kill you just like I'd kill any other akuma, understand?"

"Same to you, Kanda."

Akumako's POV

Kanda allowed me to tag along with him without fighting me too much about it, which I was thankful for. I wasn't in the mood to bicker with him. In case you're curious, I wasn't sticking with him because I thought we needed each other. Not at all. It was just that my vision was still messed up from all of that blood getting in my eyes. I imagine that my eyes looked pretty freaky, since they were probably stained all red. Particularly my right eye, which had been concealed until now. I wonder why Kanda didn't make a fuss about it now, like he did when we were younger? I had always assumed that no matter how old we got, Kanda would never let it go. Maybe he was finally mature enough to overlook the cursed black pentacle that I had kept hidden for all these years?


	5. Demon Eye

Never had I enjoyed hiding out in old buildings, let alone new ones, and I knew Kanda didn't either, yet we found ourselves ducking into another one of Mater's crumbling houses. Unfortunately, one of the akuma in the area had evolved to level 2, making my - I mean _our_ - job a lot harder. Level 1 akuma are all the same, but once they evolve, it's impossible to tell what powers they'll have. I think just about every Exorcist that ever lived can agree that evolved akuma are pains in the ass, pardon my French. Now, Kanda and I were stuck hiding out in a building that looked like it would collapse on us at any second. It would be pretty pathetic if we were killed by a house.

I couldn't shake the feeling that we weren't alone. Obviously, there was Allen, Toma, and the akuma out there in the city somewhere, as well as the Ghost of Mater, but there was someone other than Kanda and I in this very building. I could feel it. If only my eyes weren't still messed up from all the blood I got in them earlier, I could find every human in the entire city in a heartbeat. Much to my chagrin, my vision was still red, so I couldn't see the different colors of humans, akuma and Innocence, which is the only good thing about the pentacle in my eye. So, instead of using my "demon eye", as Kanda called it, I settled for wandering through every room and checking every cranny for signs of life. I didn't find anything until I came to an old wooden door. The door itself meant nothing until I tried to open it, only to find that it was locked. In the silence, I heard hushed whispers and shuffling from the other side. Grinning oddly, I said, "I found you..."

"What was that, Redhead?" Kanda snapped.

"I'm not talking to you, Kanda," I replied as I took a few steps back. I launched myself at the door. "Come out, come out, Ghost of Mater!" Sure enough, behind the now-shattered door in a dark, barren room huddled what looked like an old man and a pretty young girl. "I found you," I repeated. I frowned when they both cowered away from me.

"Who are you?" The girl asked, clearly afraid of me, "What do you want with us?"

"It's not _you_ we're after," I replied, "Don't go feeling so important."

"Don't go busting doors down, idiot!" Kanda scolded in his usual condescending manner, "Are you trying to tell that damned akuma where we are?!" Only then did he notice the two people in front of me. "Who are they?"

I glared at him, snapping, "I would know if you would give enough damned time to ask!" Turning back to the frightened pair, I asked more forcefully than necessary, "So, who are you? I would say the Ghost of Mater, but there's two of you. So which is it?"

"I'm-" The young girl was cut off by her older companion.

"I am the Ghost of Mater. My name is Guzol."

Before I could respond, Kanda interjected, "Sorry old man, but you're no ghost." When I met his eyes, he looked almost smug. _Don't feel special, Pretty Boy..._ "What are you?"

"You're right. I am not a ghost. I am a doll..."

Before I knew it, we were being told his life story. After ten minutes or so, I was having a nice little conversation with my nonexistent friends and Kanda was getting very, _very _annoyed. Then again, when is he not? He managed to escape when he got a call from Toma on his golem, but I was stuck listening to the old man ramble on and on about his past. When I actually listened, something sounded off. This old man's story didn't sit right. I had the nagging feeling that he was lying. At that moment I realized; If this guy wasn't a human or an akuma, he wouldn't have a soul. If he was a doll like he claimed, he'd more likely have that greenish-white glow of Innocence, if anything. The issue was, my eyes were still stained. The crimson aura of a human, the violet akuma soul, and the glow of Innocence were invisible to me now. Then, I had an idea:

I pulled my small waterskin from the belt at my hip and tried putting a few drops of water in my left eye. I blinked a few times, and my vision on that side cleared. I repeated the process with my right eye, the redness washing away an my sight turning back to normal. Upon activation, every color I saw normally faded to shades of black and grey. I glanced at Kanda, who was now glowing crimson. Perfect. As for the so-called Ghost of Mater...

They were gone.

While I focused on rinsing my eyes and Kanda was talking to Toma, the two had escaped with the Innocence! "Where did they go?!" I growled to myself. Kanda had stepped out and couldn't hear me from the other room, otherwise he probably would have snapped something back at me. I looked around, trying to locate the colors that would show me where they had gone. Through the wall, I could see faint, distant red signatures that were probably Allen and Toma. In the same area was a violet signature that was the level 2, showing that Allen hadn't killed it yet. "Where, oh, where is the Ghost of Mater?" I muttered bitterly. I looked at the ground, hoping to see footprints in the dust, but instead, I found two more colors: One red and done the greenish-white I had predicted. But why were they underground? On my knees, I pushed on the dust-and-sand covered bricks until I found a section the moved when I touched it. I pulled them up, revealing an underground passageway. All of the bricks were connected to form a sort of lid, probably to keep them from falling in. Without alerting my partner, I jumped into the blackness, not fully realizing how far away the ground was. I stumbled from the impact of my feet hitting the ground as the bricks fell back over the opening, leaving no light at all.

"Well," I mumbled, "I guess I'm not getting out that way." I scuffled around in the dirt until I found the wall, which I used with the soul signatures to try to follow the old man and the girl. I was more difficult than I had expected, with me constantly hitting dead ends or tripping over rocks. After a while, I dropped into the dirt, tired of hunting those two down. "I'm done!" I shouted at nobody, "I'm tired of chasing down an old man and a little girl! Let that akuma take it! I'll just hunt that down later!" The lack of a response was pretty underwhelming. "At least, if I ever find my way out of here." To entertain myself in the darkness, I hummed a lullaby, singing the words in my head.

_"Two little boys had two little toys._

_Each had a wooden horse._

_Gaily they played each summer's day,_

_They were warriors both, of course._

_Then one little chap, he had a mishap._

_He broke off his horse's head._

_He wept for his toy, then he_

_cried for joy as his young playmate said,_

_'Did you think I would leave you crying_

_when there's room on my horse for two?_

_So climb up here Joe, and off we'll go._

_We can go just as fast with two._

_When we grow up, we'll both be soldiers,_

_and our horses will not be toys._

_Do you think that we will remember_

_when we were two little boys?'"_

The rest of the song drifted out of my head before I could finish, which upset me a little, but more importantly, where had I heard that song? I certainly hadn't learned it from General Cross, or anyone else from the Order for that matter. So... Who sang it to me?

Another melody soon reached my ears, this one echoing through the tunnels instead of inside my own head. I followed the song, knowing exactly who was singing it. Chances are, anyone else who could hear the lullaby would reach the same conclusion, so I rushed to get there first. Before I could get there, however, the sorrowful melody was replaced by shrieks and crashes, then silence. The ground in front of me started to get brighter and there was light at the end of the tunnel. No, I wasn't dead. However, after another crash, it appeared that the girl I had been following was and her elderly companion was on the verge of death. Once I arrived in the huge cavern, I saw what I had missed: The level 2 had gotten her and gotten a hold on the Innocence we were here for, and was battling the new kid, Allen. Kanda was lying in the sand alongside Toma the finder. Good job Kanda. At least he was trying to get up and not being pathetic, even though he looked pretty beat-up. I sprinted over to him, trying to avoid flying debris of stray shots from the battle going on just a few meters away.

Without missing a beat, I asked, "I didn't miss anything important, did I?" At first, Kanda just glared at me as if he were trying to make me catch fire or something. "What's your deal? I asked you a question!"

"Thanks for ditching me, Redhead," he said with bitter sarcasm.

"I'll take that as a 'no,'" I replied, "I'm guessing you don't want me to help you out?"

"Che. I don't need your help, Redhead!"

"Suit yourself." Without further ado, I commanded my weapon to activate and lunged for the akuma, slashing at it with my slender, armored claws. I got several hits in, but there was a sudden jolt of pain in my right arm, forcing me to scream. I recognized the feeling. My weapon was malfunctioning again. I Glanced at my arm to see how bad it was, and I really wished I hadn't. It was horribly twisted and bent in multiple spots, all disfigured and a dark metallic gray instead of bone white plates like it should be. My arm twitched and pulsed painfully. I tried to keep fighting, but the pain was bluffing my vision and making my attacks sloppy.

"Retreat, you idiot!" Kanda shouted, "Are you trying to get yourself killed?!" Was that genuine worry in his voice, or did he just not want to explain to Komui how I got killed?

"Go ahead, Akumako!" Allen agreed. "I can take care of this guy!" At that, I withdrew to a distance I deemed safe, attempting to regain control over my weapon. Why now? My syncro-rate is at 93%! Why won't my Innocence cooperate with me?! I tried deactivating it, but it was completely unresponsive to my commands. I could feel my weapon gradually drain away my energy, and everything faded into black.

I woke up on the floor of another crumbling building. I sat up, realizing that my weapon had deactivated itself. "I guess it deactivated when I passed out..." I stood up and quickly became dizzy. The wall offered some support, but I was hesitant to put all of my weight on it in case it collapse. Bending over to brush the dust off of my clothes, I noticed that I had been using somebody's coat as a pillow. It wasn't mine, since I was wearing it, and it wasn't Toma's, because his coat is tan. So the question is, whose was it? As if to answer my unspoken question, Kanda walked in with his usual angry expression and missing his black coat... And a shirt...

"What're you looking at, Redhead?" Kanda snapped. I hadn't realized I'd been staring. C'mon, he only had a few bandages wrapped around him! Who wouldn't look?!

"Nothing," I mumbled. I picked up Kanda's folded-up coat and passed it to him. "I take it that this is yours?"

"Yeah. Thanks..." Did Kanda just say 'Thanks'? And to me?! My surprise clearly showed, and it obviously amused him. "What? I can't say 'thanks' when somebody gives me something?"

"Who are you, and what have you done with Kanda?" He snickered a bit, but not in a mean way like he would laugh at me when we were younger. He just sounded amused.

"Trust me, I'm the real Kanda. Anyway, make sure you have your stuff. We're leaving for our next mission soon."

"You already made contact with HQ?"

"That's right," he replied, "I didn't tell Komui about the problem with your arm, and he told me to take you with me."

"Fine. Where're we headed?"

"Ireland, apparently. There's a small town called Newcastle that has reported strange activity. We don't have any other leads right now, so they're sending us to check it out. Oh, and we're meeting Lavi there."

"Sounds good. When will we leave?"

"Daybreak.

I nodded, thinking I was finished, but I remembered something, "By the way, how long was I out?

Kanda thought for a second before replying, then said "About three days."

"THREE DAYS?!" No wonder I was so hungry...

_Author's Note: Sorry this chapter has been so late! I would have gotten it up sooner, but I got writer's block mid-chapter. Anyway, if you have an questions, comments, or suggestions, drop them in the comment box and I will read them (I always do). I love hearing feedback from my readers, so don't be shy!_


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